Ghost’s 2011 Music Highlights

Of all forms of entertainment, I think music is the most subjective. We can all try to explain why a movie is better than the other, we have something as tangible as a script or as actors’ performances. But with music, especially in an album or mp3 downloads where the only tangible thing might be the actual jewel case or digipak — if you still buy albums, is all about how it makes you feel.

Only trained musicians can get into the specifics, and even then their reasons always come back to how the music makes them feel.

But we’re not experts. We’re consumers. We’re consumers who stopped listening to the radio, we don’t watch MTV any longer (unless it’s really late at night and there’s nothing good on), we don’t watch music award shows, we don’t follow Billboard charts and we’re bored of Pitchfork.

So here we are, barely four days away from Christmas and a few days away from the end of the year to pick ten of my music highlights of the year. But first, our bonus.

GD&TOP

Whether or not you know Korean boyband Big Bang — chances are if you know G-Dragon and T.O.P, you know Big Bang — you can’t help but feel infected by the GD&TOP sound, which they have described as electro-ghetto. The album was released in the last week of 2010, so I don’t think anyone who had their lists out “on time” were able to include this.

@amy, Well, there ya go…HaHa. I guess I can’t really comment on it seeing as I only actually listened to “Innocence”, “Earth Intruders”, “Declare Independence” and “Wanderlust”. Did she release some side projects — one of them having to do with the Moomins? Cuz remember Moomins + Bjork at some point, but I don’t know if that was something fan made or real…?

Anyway, I keep saying I’ve got all this stuff to check out and I forget! Guess that’s what I’ll be doing Christmas week-end :)

To be honest, I’m not a really Big Bang fan – I know it’s a surprise considering I learned their names first and all – but I only have like two songs from them in my iPod. But I have most of GD&TOP, specially the most weird tracks LOL

And……. I can’t get Radiohead. I mean, I get it… I just can’t get into it. It doesn’t stir anything inside me, like… let’s say- that clip of Tokyo Jihen singing Welcome to Paradise.

I think Bjork does great when she goes organic, and even though Volta (the very name is not organic) was about earth intruders and stuff, it felt so OFF. I think Salyu is the opposite in that sense. Her sound in more produced, very powerful vocals, but she will sound weird in a more organic environment.

@Camiele, Volta had some good tracks, but that was that. It was a huge disappointment, specially jumping from Medulla to it. Culture shock.

If you like to check out “Bjorkness” in Salyu – you have to check her work in the All About Lily Chou Chou OST, where she sings as Lily. A personal highlight was her performance of Glide in her last Budokan show (youtube ‘salyu glide live’) which was a rare occurrence of her being Lily again. Her discography as ‘salyu’ seems to divide fans because she goes a bit too ‘pop’ for Lily lovers, but considered a class-B Jpop singer because she’s not commercial enough for the rest of them.

There’s also Bjorkness in my #4 pick, SingerSen, who worked with Guy Sigsworth in her EP – if you are a big Bjork fan you know they’ve worked together. It has a lot of Bjork influences, but with Chinese flavor.

@amy, at least you’re not one of those people who likes Radiohead because everyone likes them. There’s tons of them that say that like Radiohead just because they can sing to Creep.